Monday, October 10, 2016

IT's PUMPKIN TIME



It’s Pumpkin Time

            We use the color orange for safety, to alert others of our presence in potentially dangerous situations, such as walking in the woods during hunting season. Of course that activity in itself is not a wise endeavor. Maybe that is why we celebrate fall with colorful orange pumpkin displays everywhere, firmly stating that another harvest season has been safely achieved.
            Another equally valid reason is the giddy joy to capture the last days of easy sunshine as the year wears on, with the orange of all those pumpkins brightening the less than lush landscape. In Damariscotta that feeling develops each year to new heights with the annual Pumpkin Fest as evidenced just this past week.
            With all their decorative and other uses, which have included giant pumpkins as boats for races, we often forget that pumpkins are edible. And I don’t mean just Aunt Ellie’s incredible pumpkin pie for the Thanksgiving dinner. The pumpkin with it’s tough skin was valued by the early settler’s as a winter vegetable like squash, that had good keeping properties for winter.
            That tough skin can be a problem in preparing dishes with fresh pumpkin, but the color is worth the effort, since canning muddies the color. To prepare pumpkin for soups, breads or pies: select smaller fleshier pumpkins, cut in half, scoop out the seeds and the strings, and bake face down in a pan at 375 degrees for 1 hour or until easily pierced with a fork. Scoop out the tender flesh and blend to a puree to suit the recipe.
            Unfortunately my favorite pumpkin recipe for Pumpkin Gratin, adapted from Marlena Spieler’s “The Vegetarian Bistro”, requires peeling, seeding and dicing the pumpkin in about ¾  or 1 inch cubes. It is best to choose a relatively small pie type pumpkin for this, to facilitate the peeling process, but the effort is definitely worth it.
                                                Pumpkin Gratin
            In a large pan sauté 1 ½ lb. diced pumpkin and 1 diced leek in 1 Tblsp. each butter and olive oil for about 15 minutes.  Dice ½  red pepper, 2 garlic cloves and 3 medium tomatoes, add to the pumpkin and continue to cook for another 15 minutes. Stir in ½ cup dry white wine and continue to cook until liquid is reduced by half. Stir in 1 tsp. herbes de Provence, 2 Tblsp. tomato paste, salt and pepper to taste and ½ cup heavy cream. Pour the mixture in a gratin dish. Mix the topping: 2 Tblsp. bread crumbs, 3 Tblsp. aged Assiago or Parmesan cheese, 1 minced garlic clove and 2 tsp. olive oil. Spread the topping over the pumpkin mixture and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Serve hot as a side dish or a vegetarian main dish for dinner or lunch.
            Pumpkin adapts very well to spiced flavorings in both cake or muffin form. An easy cake for fall entertaining is this spiced pumpkin ring or loaf cake.
                                                Spiced Pumpkin Ring
            Grease an angel cake pan or 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl beat together 4 eggs, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar and ½ cup each corn oil and melted butter. Stir in 2 cups blended pumpkin. In another bowl mix together 3 cups flour, 2 tsp. baking powder, 2 tsp. baking soda, ½ tsp. salt, 2 tsp. cinnamon, ½ tsp. ground cloves. Stir the flour mixture in the pumpkin until well blended. Stir in ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans and  ½ cup raisins. Pour into the pan and bake. Bake the angel food cake pan for 1 ½ hours, the loaf pan 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool and unmold.  Serve with sprinkled powdered sugar on top, or Hard Sauce.
                                    Hard Sauce
            Cream together 1 cup butter with 1 cup powdered sugar, when well creamed beat in ¼ cup dark rum. Chill thoroughly.
            So, celebrate the pumpkin this fall season. It is a feast not just for the eye, but can be equally tasty in both savory and sweet renditions to the palate.
            (I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)